Date and Orange Buttermilk Scones
Ingredients
- 3½ oz/100g chopped Medjool dates
- 1¾ cups all-purpose flour (reserve 1 tbsp for dusting dates)
- ¼ cup fine almond flour
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ tsp cardamom
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- 2½ tsp finely grated orange zest
- 1/3 cup cold unsalted* butter, cut into ½“ cubes
- 1 large egg (cold), lightly beaten with fork
- ½ cup + 1½ tbsp buttermilk (cold) (with 3/4 tbsp removed and reserved for brushing tops of scones)
- 1½ tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 – 2 tsp turbinado or cane sugar for sprinkling tops of scones (optional)
Instructions
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Chop Medjool dates into bite-sized pieces and, in a small bowl, dust with the reserved 1 tbsp of flour. Set aside.
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Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
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In large bowl, sieve or sift the flours, sugar, baking powder, salt, cardamom, and nutmeg together. Stir in the orange zest. Drop the cubes of butter into the dry ingredients and toss to coat the butter. Cut in the butter with a wire pastry cutter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs or pea-sized pieces. Quickly run fingers through the mixture several times, scooping up bits of the butter here and there and rubbing them into long paper-thin slivers between the thumb and forefinger. It is not necessary to do this with every single piece of butter – just quickly pick several at random.
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Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients.
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In a small bowl or large measuring cup, lightly whisk the egg, buttermilk, and vanilla together, just until blended. Pour liquid ingredients all at once into well in center of dry ingredients. Using a fork, stir dough just enough that the liquid is absorbed into the dry ingredients and the dough can be roughly brought together. Dough will be soft and sticky and some floury spots may remain. Transfer dough onto lightly floured work surface, gently working it just until the dry ingredients are barely incorporated and a shaggy dough mass forms.
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Fold the dough in half over onto itself. Lightly press the dough down. Turn the dough a quarter turn and repeat the folding exercise. Gently press about one-quarter of the chopped dates into the dough, just enough that they stay in place. Continue with the foldover process and pressing more of the dates into the dough for each foldover. Do this 3-4 times, taking care not to overhandle or overwork the dough. Shape dough loosely into a circular ball shape.
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To make wedge-shaped scones:
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With a bench/pastry scraper or sharp knife, divide the dough into two equal parts. Lightly press and form each part into a small circle about ¾ - scant 1” thick. Transfer to prepared baking sheet. Cut each circle into six equal wedges and separate the scones by about ¾”, still keeping each group of six wedges in a circular shape for baking. Refrigerate for 30 minutes (or place in freezer for about 20 minutes) to firm up butter and other ingredients.
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Remove scones from refrigerator/freezer and, using a pastry brush, lightly brush the reserved buttermilk on tops of scones and sprinkle with turbinado or cane sugar, if desired.
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To make round-shaped scones:
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Lightly press dough into circle about ¾“ – scant 1” thick. Use a lightly floured 1¾” – 2” round cutter to cut scones from dough. Push the cutter straight down and out of the dough without twisting it in the process. Re-flour the cutter before cutting out each scone. Gather dough scraps and form into a circle from which to cut remaining scones, being careful to work the dough no more than absolutely necessary to bring it together. Transfer scones to prepared baking sheet, placing scones about 1” apart. Refrigerate for 30 minutes (or place in freezer for about 20 minutes) to firm up butter and other ingredients.
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To make square-shaped scones:
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Lightly press dough into rectangle about ¾“ – scant 1” thick. Use a lightly floured 1¾” – 2” square cutter (or a sharp knife) to cut square-shaped scones from dough. If using a cutter, push the cutter straight down and out of the dough without twisting it in the process. Re-flour the cutter before cutting out each scone. Gather dough scraps and form into a rectangle from which to cut remaining scones, being careful to work the dough no more than absolutely necessary to bring it together. Transfer scones to prepared baking sheet, placing scones about 1” apart. Refrigerate for 30 minutes (or place in freezer for about 20 minutes) to firm up butter and other ingredients.
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For either round- or square-shaped scones, remove scones from refrigerator/freezer and, using a pastry brush, lightly brush the reserved buttermilk on tops of scones and sprinkle with turbinado or cane sugar, if desired.
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To bake scones (wedge-shaped or round/square shaped):
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While scones are chilling, position oven rack in center of oven and preheat oven to 400°F. Bake scones (either wedge-shaped or round or square shapes) 15-17 minutes, or until they are just light golden brown on the edges and tops are golden tanned. Rotate the baking sheet partway through the baking. Remove scones from oven and leave them on the baking sheet for 3-4 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack.
Recipe Notes
*salted butter may be substituted for the unsalted butter in which case, reduce the ¼ teaspoon of salt called for in the recipe to 1/8 teaspoon.
To serve: Serve warm scones along with clotted cream or English double cream and a favorite jam or fruit curd. Or, simply enjoy with a good slather of butter on the scones.
Yield: 1 dozen wedge-shaped scones or apx. 10 – 2” round or square scones (exact number will depend on size of cutter used and thickness of dough from which scones are cut)
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